Global Law Office > The Legal 500 Rankings

China > Banking and finance: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office advises banks on the financing of acquisitions and projects as well as the establishment of loan facilities. The practice is experienced at advising on cross-border loan transactions, such as financing Chinese developments overseas. The team is also active in handling contentious cases, acting for banks in disputes with borrowers over financial loan contracts. Lawrence Lin and Xin Zhang  lead the practice from the firm’s Beijing office; both have broad practices, with Lin also noted for his expertise in ship finance. May Liu is also active in ship finance, as well as aircraft and trade financing; elsewhere, Minghao Xu specialises in financing related to trust structures and trust investment vehicles, while Kunlin Wang is managing partner of the firm’s Chengdu office and handles contentious and non-contentious matters in this area.

China > Data protection: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office‘s team operates on a cross practice basis, and as such is able to offer expertise in a broad range of data-related issues. The group’s client base includes international household names in the tech sector such as Microsoft and HP, which the team advises on complex compliance projects in addition to regulatory investigations. Maggie Meng leads the Beijing team and uses her previous experience working in-house to advise clients in the TMT sector, as well as banks and insurance companies. In Shanghai, Vincent Wang assists with data issues as part of a wide-ranging practice focusing on emerging technologies.

China > Dispute resolution: Arbitration: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office is ‘a top-tier full-service Chinese law firm’, and its arbitration offering is among the strongest on the market. The group primarily works with financial institutions and multinational companies, and has experience in representing clients in a number of domestic and international arbitration centres. Yifeng Gao and Xiusong Xing are the key practitioners; the former specialises in international disputes, while the latter has experience acting as a CIETAC arbitrator. Xitai Liu is head of the Shenzhen practice and regularly works with investment institutions. The Shenzhen office is also home to promising junior partner Jack Law, who recently led a team in HKIAC proceedings. Jiuguang Zhao and Zhao Li lead the Beijing dispute resolution practice, while Heng Wang was promoted to partner in January 2021.

China > Life sciences and healthcare: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office's practice spans advice to clinical research organisations, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, biotechnology and medical devices clients, supply producers and distributors. The group assists with securities offerings and Greenfield and other investments and it also has notable expertise advising on the reform and restructuring of public hospitals, and M&A of privately-owned hospitals. The team is particularly active in advising both pharmaceutical companies and investment funds on multimillion-RMB financing transactions. Alan Zhou and Michael Yu lead the firm's 25-partner team from its Shanghai and Beijing offices respectively. Zhou's main clients include multinational corporations, well-known Chinese state-owned and private enterprises, private equity groups and venture capital funds; Yu focuses on private equity investments, securities offerings and foreign direct investment. Other names to note include Charlene Huang who focuses on cross-border license deals, hospital management and data protection matters; Coco Fan and Jacky Li who excel in regulatory and compliance, anti-corruption and antitrust matters; and of counsel Felicia Wang who advises on clinical trial and data protection.

China > Projects and energy: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office advises on the development and construction of a wide range of projects, both in China and overseas. The team has a particular focus on the mining and energy sectors, and also advises on transport and industrial projects. Key partners in the practice include Shifang Guo, who is experienced in acquisitions and investments involving projects, as well as project financing, with Zhongcheng Wang and Miller Wang also active in this area.

China > TMT: PRC firms Tier 1

Global Law Office can offer a truly complete service to funds, banks and companies active in all areas of the TMT sector, with the firm’s deep bench of specialist partners able to assist with matters ranging from corporate transactions and commercial agreements through to dispute resolution and regulatory compliance. Beijing houses many of the key partners; Maggie Meng focuses on assisting clients with navigating China’s rapidly developing data protection and privacy regulations, while managing partner Jinrong Liu ‘s expertise spans M&A, VC investments and antitrust. In Shanghai, Vincent Wang assists multinational companies with their entry into the Chinese market. Steven Yu and Meph Jia Gui complete the senior management team.

China > Antitrust and competition: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office handles the full spectrum of antitrust and competition law matters. The practice advises its clients on filing to the SAMR for transactions, as well as responding to anti-monopoly investigations. The team is also involved in follow-on litigation, including a novel case in which a client sought to have PRC courts affirm a finding of anti-competitive practices based on a decision by the European Commission. Qing Ren has been active in this area for more than a decade, and previously handled antitrust work at the Ministry of Commerce. Shujun Liu is noted for her work for Japanese clients, and Ying Mu focuses on IP-related antitrust matters. John Wan left the firm in September 2020 to take up an in-house position at Alibaba.

China > Capital markets: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office is well-versed in all aspects of domestic and international capital markets work, regularly advising issuers and sponsors on private placements, IPOs, follow-on listings and bond issuances. Jinrong Liu, Xin Zhang, Wei Qin and Wen Li are the leaders of the Beijing office; Cheng Li and Yu Zhang respectively head the Shenzhen and Shanghai offices. Junior partner Haishan Sun is a name to note, having already assisted both issuers and underwriters in the IPOs on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Associate Xing Jin‘s experience spans banking and finance and real estate as well as capital markets.

China > Corporate and M&A: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office fields a team with considerable proficiency in cross-border, private and public M&A transactions. The practice represents PRC state-owned enterprises in addition to public companies from China, the US, UK and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions; it advises on foreign investment, industrial compliance, the regulation of state-owned assets, merger control filings and national security reviews. Jinrong Liu has overseen 100 equity and debt offerings throughout his illustrious career and co-leads the department from Beijing together with Alex Liu, an expert in cross-border takeover and reorganisation matters, and Shifang Guo, the key point of contact for outbound M&A.

China > Dispute resolution: Litigation: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office is highly capable in all major areas of contentious work, but has developed a niche in representing financial institutions in asset management and securities disputes. The group represents clients at all the levels of the Chinese judicial system up to the Supreme People’s Court, in addition to sector-specific courts such as the Maritime court and the IP courts. Yifeng Gao is one of the most experienced partners in the practice and focuses on litigation and arbitration proceedings with an international element. Jiuguang Zhao and Zhao Li lead the department in Beijing, while Xitai Liu heads up the Shenzhen practice.

China > Fintech: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office‘s broad client roster spans traditional financial institutions, e-commerce, and fintech start-ups which it advises on contentious and non-contentious matters with particular strength in multimillion-RMB financing, private equity and venture capital investment mandates in the fintech industry. Areas of expertise include face recognition, e-payment, big data, artificial intelligence and virtual currency. Recent highlights also saw the team acting for a multinational financial services company on the compliance aspects of its business practice and cooperation in China, including financial regulatory requirements for cross-border payment services, potential business model assessments, tax arrangements, data compliance and due diligence on business partners. Steven Yu acts for international and domestic private equity and VC funds, and internet giants on their investment in China-based TMT companies; he recently advised Bugbank, China’s leading cybersecurity service provider, on completing Series B2 and Series C1 financing. Vincent Wang has expertise in a broad range of new and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, blockchain, IOT, e-mobility and cloud computing; Maggie Meng specialises in the TMT sector, with a particular focus on data protection and privacy as well as regulatory matters.

China > Intellectual property: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office has a strong team of partners, whose varied specialisms allow the group to collectively assist will issues associated with the protection and enforcement of copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. The firm’s disputes work includes assisting multinational, domestic and state-owned companies from the tech, aviation and banking sectors on invalidation and infringement proceedings. Degang Ma is a key name in this regard and frequently advises on complex FRAND issues regarding standard essential patents. On the contentious front, Ying Mu has broad expertise which ranges from IP portfolio management and litigation to unfair competition.  Jinrong Liu  leads the team from the Beijing office.

China > Investment funds: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office acts for both domestic and international fund managers in fund formation and structuring, as well as fundraising. The practice is active in the private equity and venture capital spaces, counting prominent funds in these areas amongst its clients. Amy Dai and Yuan Yuan jointly lead the team and have experience advising on matters involving a range of fund types.

China > Private equity: PRC firms Tier 2

The ‘small but highly efficient team’ at Global Law Office has a client portfolio that includes multinational and domestic clients, and the firm assists both investors and target companies in venture capital and private equity transactions, in addition to fund formation. Primavera Capital is a key client, and every year the group advises on a number of its investments in Chinese companies. As a recent example,  Xueliang Mao and Huawei Lin led a team that advised the client on it’s $700m investment in 4Paradigm. Steven Zhu and Jeffrey Zhu head up the department, while managing partner Jinrong Liu is the key contact for some of the firms biggest investor clients.

China > Real estate and construction: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office handles a range of real estate matters, including the financing and construction of infrastructure projects such as railways and industrial developments. The practice is also active in the commercial property sector, with Jason Wang particularly noted for his experience advising on transactions involving hotels. Huawei Lin  stands out for his work acting for private equity funds such as Warburg Pincus and Blackstone on acquisitions of Chinese real estate assets. Zhongcheng Wang is another key contact in the team.

China > Regulatory/compliance: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office is well versed in assisting large corporate clients with issues pertaining to their risk management and general compliance programs, as well as with representing them in agency investigations into allegations of market misconduct, employment law violations and bribery. The team’s recent workload demonstrates a discernible ability to handle mandates in more dynamic industries such as healthcare and pharmaceuticals. The department is led out of Shanghai by Alan Zhou and Weiwei Gu. Clients also laud Jacky Li as being ‘very passionate about his work and dedicated to his clients’.

China > Shipping: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office handles a broad range of shipping disputes, acting for ship leasing companies, cargo owners, and shipbuilders. The practice represents clients in litigation related to charters and casualty issues and arbitrations. Partners in the team are also frequently instructed to sit as arbitrators, and also appear in court as expert witnesses. Yifeng Gao, Jingye Jiang and Ting Lei lead the team and all have deep experience in this sector.

China > Tax: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office is particularly focused on advising clients on customs-related matters. The team aids international and domestic companies, including SOEs, on complying with customs law and responding to investigations of alleged violations. The practice is jointly led by Jinrong Liu in Beijing, and Shanghai-based Deming Zhao and Jun Qian.

China > WTO/international trade: PRC firms Tier 2

Global Law Office's practice is led by Frank Hang, who focuses on anti-dumping and countervailing disputes, export control specialist Qing Ren, and Deming Zhao, who handles both compliance and customs investigations. The team acts for clients from the industrial and services sectors in responding to investigations from the EU, United States, and EEC.

China > Insurance; PRC firms Tier 3

Based across the firm’s Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen offices, the insurance team at Global Law Office is highly experienced in advising insurance and reinsurance companies on their multimillion-dollar investments, fund formation, restructuring, equity transfer, insurance pay-outs, and disputes. Amy Dai is well versed in major investment projects; Jingye Jiang,Tim Yimin Liu, Ken Huang and Zhao Li are noted for insurance litigation; Xu Jin advises on fund formation and asset restructuring matters; and Huawei Lin and Yifeng Gao are further names to note.

China > Labour and employment: PRC firms Tier 3

Global Law Office acts for both domestic Chinese companies and multinationals on contentious and non-contentious labour matters. The team’s advisory work includes assisting clients with the development of employee guidelines and benefit schemes. On the contentious side, the team handles mass redundancies, unfair termination, and non-compete disputes, including matters involving high-ranking employees. In addition to acting for employers, it also represents employees. The team is led by Zhao Li in Beijing and Weiwei Gu in Shanghai, who both offer expertise across the spectrum of labour law.

China > Restructuring and insolvency: PRC firms Tier 3

Global Law Office‘s broad restructuring practice acts for a range of parties in the bankruptcy and restructuring process, including creditors and investors in distressed companies. Jiuguang Zhao and Yunjian Hou lead the Beijing team, which is frequently appointed by courts in the city to serve as administrator of insolvent companies and is also active in advising on restructuring and liquidation. Weiwei Gu in Shanghai is another name to note.

China > Regional coverage: Sichuan Province: Chengdu including Chongqing